Michael Crichton has been one of my favorite authors since I was a kid. Lately, I’ve been enjoying going back and rereading books I first encountered when I was much younger and not just seeing if they hold up over time, but also seeing if my reaction to them has changed. I’m happy to report that this one is still just as good as the first time I read it.

Crichton’s foray into jungle exploration is about an expedition into the Congo to both find diamonds for use in the development of communication technologies and to study what seems to be a new type of violent gorilla encountered deep in the jungle. There is a lot of science and a lot of jargon, but Crichton has a characteristic way of cutting through it and making it understandable and enjoyable to read. There are a lot of factors converging against the expedition, including rival companies, the aforementioned gorillas, and, of course, nature itself, since the diamonds they’re searching for are at the base of a volcano. It’s an exciting and tense narrative that simultaneously encapsulates the massive advances in computers taking place at the end of the 1970s and the unknown nature of exploration into places few human beings have ever seen, beyond those that already live there. It also highlights the intelligence of animals and the rapidity with which those animals are losing their habitats to humanity, along with taking on the themes of the cost of progress and the dangers of humans thinking they can control nature, which is a common thread across many of Crichton’s books. Overall, it’s a very sophisticated read, but it’s worth it.

In terms of trigger warnings, I’d say that if you don’t like reading about animals getting hurt, no matter how dangerous they are, you should skip this one. There is also a fair amount of violence, though I wouldn’t classify it as excessive or gory in its description.